Boca Raton Civic Groups To Offer Cpr

April 25, 1988|By ROSE BOCCIO, Staff Writer

Don MacConnel remembered the day 12 years ago that a man suffered a heart attack in a car rental business in California. None of the people surrounding the man on the floor knew cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The man died before the rescue unit arrived.

``I walked into the place about 10 minutes after he went down,`` MacConnel said. ``I tried to revive him, but it was too late. The critical time is within the first four minutes. It was really tragic that no one knew what to do.``

That death and recent news stories about people saving others` lives with CPR prompted MacConnel to organize CPR instruction for the public.

On Saturday, he and other community organizations will offer a chance for others to learn CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver in free classes on the Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton campus.

The classes, under the auspices of the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce, are scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The three-hour classes will begin at 1/2-hour intervals, and MacConnel said that the 40 certified instructors can handle 240 people. As of Friday, 130 people had registered.

A person must be at least 13 years old to become certified.

``The campaign is not just to get people to learn CPR,`` he said. ``The campaign is to save lives.``

In addition to the chamber, others involved in Saturday`s event include the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, Boca Raton Community Hospital, West Boca Medical Center, FAU Physical Fitness/Wellness Intitute and Boca Raton Fire-Rescue.

The classes will take place in classrooms on the third floor of Fleming Hall on the FAU campus. Those interested in registering for a class or who need more information can call the ``Heartbeat Desk`` at Atlantic Federal Bank at 395-2591.